How to create Excel combination chart in C#, VB.Net?
Syncfusion Essential XlsIO is a .NET Excel library used to create, read, and edit Excel documents. Using this library, you can create combination chart in Excel.
What is a combination chart?
Combination charts combine two or more chart types to make the data easy to understand. These charts can be used charts when the numbers in your data vary widely from data series to data series, or you have mixed type of data.
Steps to create a Combination chart programmatically:
Step 1: Create a chart object by calling the worksheet.Charts.Add method.
C#
//Create the chart IChartShape chart = worksheet.Charts.Add();
Step 2: Set a range of data from the worksheet to chart’s DataRange property. To plot the series values in column and categories in row, set chart’s IsSeriesInRows property to false.
C#
//Set region of Chart data chart.DataRange = worksheet["A1:C13"]; //Set chart series in column for assigned data region chart.IsSeriesInRows = false;
Step 3: Set different SerieType value to the series. By doing this, chart type will be changed to combination chart type.
C#
//Set Serie type IChartSerie serie1 = chart.Series[0]; IChartSerie serie2 = chart.Series[1]; serie1.SerieType = ExcelChartType.Column_Clustered; serie2.SerieType = ExcelChartType.Line; serie2.UsePrimaryAxis = false; |
For creating a combination chart, the chart must have minimum two series. Setting different SerieType property or UsePrimaryAxis property, the chart will be changed to combination chart type.
Step 4: Add the basic elements like chart title, data labels and legend.
- ChartTitle of chart object.
- Set DataLabels via DefaultDataPoints.
- Set TRUE to chart’s HasLegend property, to show the legend.
C#
//Apply chart elements //Set Chart Title chart.ChartTitle = "Combination Chart"; //Set Datalabels serie1.DataPoints.DefaultDataPoint.DataLabels.IsValue = true; //Set Legend chart.HasLegend = true; chart.Legend.Position = ExcelLegendPosition.Bottom;
Below is the list of ExcelChartType enum values can be applied to the series to create a combination chart.
1. Area
- Area
- Area_Stacked
- Area_Stacked_100
2. Bar
- Bar_Clustered
- Bar_Stacked
- Bar_Stacked_100
3. Column
- Column_Clustered
- Column_Stacked
- Column_Stacked_100
4. Line
- Line
- Line_Markers
- Line_Stacked
- Line_Stacked_100
- Line_Markers_Stacked
- Line_Markers_Stacked_100
5. Pie
- Pie
- PieOfPie
- Pie_Bar
- Doughnut
6. Radar
- Radar
- Radar_Markers
- Radar_Filled
7. Scatter
- Scatter_Markers
- Scatter_Line
- Scatter_Line_Markers
- Scatter_SmoothedLine
- Scatter_SmoothedLine_Markers
Applying properties apart from the mentioned list might throw exception or the generate incorrect output document.
Combination_Chart type cannot be set to series type.
The following C#/ VB.NET complete code snippet shows the creation of combination of clustered column and line on secondary axis chart using XlsIO.
C#
using Syncfusion.XlsIO;
using System.Reflection;
using System.IO;
namespace ChartSample
{
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
using (ExcelEngine excelEngine = new ExcelEngine())
{
IApplication application = excelEngine.Excel;
application.DefaultVersion = ExcelVersion.Excel2016;
//Open existing workbook with data entered
Assembly assembly = typeof(Program).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
Stream fileStream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("ChartSample.InputTemplate.xlsx");
IWorkbook workbook = application.Workbooks.Open(fileStream);
IWorksheet worksheet = workbook.Worksheets[0];
//Initialize chart and assign data
IChartShape chart = worksheet.Charts.Add();
chart.DataRange = worksheet["A1:C13"];
//Apply chart elements
//Set Chart Title
chart.ChartTitle = "Combination Chart";
chart.IsSeriesInRows = false;
//Set Legend
chart.HasLegend = true;
chart.Legend.Position = ExcelLegendPosition.Bottom;
//Set Serie type
IChartSerie serie1 = chart.Series[0];
IChartSerie serie2 = chart.Series[1];
serie1.SerieType = ExcelChartType.Column_Clustered;
serie2.SerieType = ExcelChartType.Line;
serie2.UsePrimaryAxis = false;
//set Data labels
serie1.DataPoints.DefaultDataPoint.DataLabels.IsValue = true;
//Positioning the chart in the worksheet
chart.TopRow = 8;
chart.LeftColumn = 1;
chart.BottomRow = 23;
chart.RightColumn = 8;
//Saving and closing the workbook
Stream stream = File.Create("Output.xlsx");
workbook.SaveAs(stream);
}
}
}
}
VB.NET
Imports Syncfusion.XlsIO
Imports System.Reflection
Imports System.IO
Namespace ChartSample
Class Program
Public Shared Sub Main(ByVal args As String())
Using excelEngine As ExcelEngine = New ExcelEngine()
Dim application As IApplication = excelEngine.Excel
application.DefaultVersion = ExcelVersion.Excel2016
'Open existing workbook with data entered
Dim assembly As Assembly = GetType(Program).GetTypeInfo().Assembly
Dim fileStream As Stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("ChartSample.InputTemplate.xlsx")
Dim workbook As IWorkbook = application.Workbooks.Open(fileStream)
Dim worksheet As IWorksheet = workbook.Worksheets(0)
'Initialize chart and assign data
Dim chart As IChartShape = worksheet.Charts.Add
chart.DataRange = worksheet("A1:C13")
'Apply chart elements
'Set Chart Title
chart.ChartTitle = "Combination Chart"
chart.IsSeriesInRows = False
'Set Legend
chart.HasLegend = True
chart.Legend.Position = ExcelLegendPosition.Bottom
'Set Serie type
Dim serie1 As IChartSerie = chart.Series(0)
Dim serie2 As IChartSerie = chart.Series(1)
serie1.SerieType = ExcelChartType.Column_Clustered
serie2.SerieType = ExcelChartType.Line
serie2.UsePrimaryAxis = False
'set Data labels
serie1.DataPoints.DefaultDataPoint.DataLabels.IsValue = True
'Positioning the chart in the worksheet
chart.TopRow = 8
chart.LeftColumn = 1
chart.BottomRow = 23
chart.RightColumn = 8
'Saving and closing the workbook
Dim stream As Stream = File.Create("Output.xlsx")
workbook.SaveAs(stream)
End Using
End Sub
End Class
End Namespace
A complete working example to create a combination chart can be downloaded from CombinationChart.zip.
Take a moment to peruse the documentation, where you will find other options like move or copy a worksheet, freeze, unfreeze and split panes, show or hide worksheet and worksheet tabs, page setup settings and more with code examples.
Click here to explore the rich set of Syncfusion Excel (XlsIO) library features.
Starting with v16.2.0.x, if you reference Syncfusion assemblies from trial setup or from the NuGet feed, include a license key in your projects. Refer the link to learn about generating and registering Syncfusion license key in your application to use the components without trail message.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed learning about how to create Excel combination chart in C#, VB.Net.
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